Basic Information about Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death

Defining the Terms

The terms "stillbirth," "miscarriage," and "neonatal death" are often misunderstood if they are understood at all.

Miscarriage is an early pregnancy loss, occurring before 20 weeks gestation. (United States)

Terminating a wanted pregnancy for medical reasons usually happens during the 2nd trimester and a baby has received a diagnosis of a condition with poor prognosis. The parents have to make the decision whether to continue the pregnancy. This also occurs when a rare pregnancy or other health complications pose a notable threat to the mother's life if she continues the pregnancy.

Stillbirth ("fetal death" or "fetal demise") is the birth of an infant that has died in the womb after 20 weeks of gestation. (United States)

Neonatal death is when a baby dies in the first 28 days of life.

Statistics

1 in 4 mothers report experiencing perinatal loss—however, the number may be as high as 50% (Jaffe & Diamond, 2011). Approximately 24,000 babies annually will be stillborn (>20 weeks gestation), and an additional 23,000 infants will die within the first 28 days of life (MacDorman & Gregory, 2015).

Perinatal loss occurs 10 times more often than deaths related to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).